Awaken
by arathia
Summary: Raven and Reese crash in the Genobreaker. Both are badly injured and arrested. Raven's comatised and lost the will to live while Reese has to deal with recovering, a trial and preying for Raven's life.
1. Crash and Retrieval

**AN:** This came with two other new idea on my profile. It's one of those few ones that I know almost exactly what to write and how it will end. And hey, no major OCs! Yay!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own zoids.

* * *

**Awaken**

**Chapter 1**

**Crash and Retrieval**

* * *

It was a strange thing, death. It seemed to taunt those in its sights, like a boy with his dog. Now it's here, now it's not, back again, gone again. For Reese it wasn't something new, she'd seen death more times than most 16-year-olds.

She swallowed hard, not focusing on the possibility that they would both die right then and there. Her lime eyes glanced over at the one beside her, blood covered his face where the metal shards had cut him. Though the wounds were tiny, they bled a lot. She watched him closely, checking for any sign of life. His eyes were dull and closing, they seemed lifeless, bringing her to tears.

"Raven…" She sobbed, the movement causing another jolt of pain to surge through her aching body. "Please…no…"

There was scratching at the cockpit. The sound made Reese panic even more. Were they back? Did they realize they weren't dead?

'_Reese!'_ Specula whimpered, trying desperately to scratch open the cockpit. She couldn't bear to think her partner was hurt. _'Are you okay?'_

The woman nodded, forgetting her organoid couldn't see it. "Raven is dead!" She wailed and began choking on blood and tears. Her ribs had been damaged and now she was coughing blood.

"_Reese…what can I do?" _Specula asked and glanced over at Shadow beside her. Despite the news he stared with confidence into the cockpit.

"Go to the hospital! I need help!" Reese answered and began wheezing again, her cries of sorrow and pain easily audible outside the cockpit.

The black organoid watched Specula fly off and turned back to the half-destroyed red zoid. As if able to see through the metal shell he stared back at Raven. _"Reese," _He said calmly. _"He's not dead."_

"I'm sorry Shadow." She breathed, assuming the organoid was in denial.

"_No, Reese, he's not dead. I can tell."_

Back inside the cockpit Reese's eyes snapped open and she looked back over at the black-haired man. His eyes were now closed but his mouth was still open and dark blood stained his chin and neck. She followed the trail, his chest was covered in wounds just like hers and she sighed, seeing a small rhythmic rise.

Still crying the woman smiled, spitting out blood onto the broken controls. They had stopped slamming electricity through their bodies when the Genobreaker died.

"_Specula's fast."_ Shadow reminded Reese, not sure why she was still crying. _"Help will be here soon."_

"What if they decide they don't want to help us after all we've done?"

Shadow made a sad throaty sound. That was almost exactly what raven would have said. Nobody knew how much the dark pilot hated himself right now. Even Shadow could only see the tip of the iceberg, and he was almost certain Raven would rather die than see the light of day again.

Shaking himself to rid himself of the sorrow he slammed against the cockpit, trying to open it.

"_They're good people; they will help you__ – both of you"_

"I don't deserve it…" She whispered, but Shadow heard it and growled at her.

"_Don't you_**ever**_ say that again!"_

The blue-haired pilot jumped and winced in pain. She hadn't expected such an outburst. "Sh-shadow…"

The tenderness in her voice made Shadow even more determined to get them out alive. There was a serious flaw in the legal system that lumped people like Raven and Hiltz together. People change, and people like Raven should be given the chance to make amends, not sit and waste themselves away behind bars.

Shadow tapped the cockpit, checking for weakness. The sound reminded Reese of a soothing heartbeat and she closed her eyes, letting the darkness take her in, at least for now. She didn't want to wake if Raven wasn't going to be there for her.

The organoid finally found weak spot and crashed through. Peeling the new opening back with his teeth he let the day's light shine onto Reese's red and white face.

The organoid watched as Reese's eyes closed and her head lolled back. She went silent but not cold, limp but not lifeless. Shadow seemed relieved. At least she would now stop worrying.

The black one curled up on the sand, waiting for the medics with deceiving patience.

"Yes? I see…where are they now? Okay, we'll be right there." Karl hung up and turned to his younger brother. "Guess who that was."

Thomas looked up. The younger one had surprise written all over his face. Then he realized the tone and began to worry.

"Who?"

"Jigura hospital." Karl answered and walked out. "Get ready. We're paying them a visit."

Thomas hastily followed his brother, still unsure of what exactly was going on. "What's there?"

"I'll explain on the way, I need to find Van."

Thomas bit his bottom lip. Whatever required the three of them could not be good. Usually one Guardian signaled danger to the public, who knows what they'll think when they see three zoids with the logo.

By the time Thomas entered the hangar he found Van and Zeke already there with his brother waiting for him.

"Jigura hospital called us to say that Specula had abducted one of their doctors. Only a minute after he was taken he communicated them and said that they needed two ambulance zoids as fast as possible."

"Why would Specula help anyone?" Thomas wondered.

"Exactly, which is we believe one of the ambulances was for Reese." Said Karl who climbed into his special Zaber Fang. The red and black feline zoid growled as its cockpit shut, the green eyes looking menacing.

"So why are we being called in if she's injured?" Thomas asked Van, a puzzled look on his face.

"Because the last time anyone saw Reese, she was with Raven." He answered and jumped in the Liger, Zeke following him obediently.

The youngest Shubaltz sighed and stepped into his Dibision. Beek, his artificial organoid, tried to comfort him.

"Don't worry about it." Thomas told the computer program dismissively and followed the others out of the hangar.


	2. Aftermath

**AN:** Well this was kinda fun. It's the product of emo music and boredom. And guess what, this is the first story I've ever written where I actually know the ending before I get up to it! Yay!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own zoids.

* * *

**Awaken**

**Chapter 2**

**Aftermath**

* * *

Reese moaned. Opening her eyes a crack she stared at the bright roof. The light was painful to her sensitive eyes and she blinked to sooth them.

She felt warm as she looked over her body. The thin frame was covered in thick sheets and blankets, all were as pale as the walls around her. Here and there white bandages were tightly wrapped around her skin, hiding wounds or keeping splints against her broken bones.

It took her a while to realize she'd been operated on and even longer to remember why. She sat up suddenly as a cold feeling flooded through her. Her weak body screamed at her for that abuse, making her wince. Her head flicked side to side, searching for a nurse or doctor, anyone would do really.

She grimaced, noticing a steel cuff around her wrist. She sighed, closing her eyes for a few seconds to calm herself. The medics must have freaked out when they saw Specula.

"She's right through here."

Reese's attention snapped over towards the door. It was a completely unfamiliar voice, but behind it she heard metallic footsteps. She felt a lift in her heart and waited expectantly for her organoid, wondering why they were taking Specula to her.

She saw a doctor lead Van through the door, Zeke behind him. Her heart fell and she looked upset again. "Oh, it's you." She greeted moodily.

"I see you're feeling better." He observed bitterly, a little offended by her opening. "How did you get so cut up?"

"How about you tell me where Specula is first?"

Van sighed. The woman was a hard one to talk to. "She'll come later–"

"–I want her now!" Reese demanded. "I won't answer you until she's here!"

Van gave an apologetic look to the doctor and turned to his organoid. "Zeke, can you fetch her?"

The white one nodded and ran off.

Van turned back to the woman who was staring distantly at the floor near his feet. She seemed to be both angry and sad, her face twisting in strange ways to show both emotions.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" Van asked carefully, feeling sorrow for her.

She nodded. "I thought he was dead." Her voice was a sad whisper, the memory brought tears to her eyes, but she was stubborn and blinked them back and tightened her jaw.

"He's alive." Van told her. The teenager had checked up on his old rival first. He doubted he'd admit to it anyone but seeing Raven in such a bad state angered him. He burned irrationally for revenge against whoever did this to him.

He saw relief wash over Reese's face. "Is he awake yet?"

Van shook his head. "No, he's still unconscious." He didn't feel their was any need to tell her he was almost dead by the time they got to him, or that he was in worse shape than the ancient zoidian.

"Will I be able to see him?"

He shrugged. "That's not up to me."

Reese bit her lip. This wasn't looking good at all.

Specula came into the room. A metal collar looped around her neck, three long chains linking it to different soldiers who kept their distance for the blue one.

Reese smiled, her heart lifting again. The organoid made a happy sound and struggled closer to her, nuzzling the woman's face. Specula's tail wagged, scaring the closest soldiers who tried unsuccessfully to step back.

"Where's Shadow?" Reese asked her friend, stroking the spiked face.

'_He left before the medics could take him back.'_

"He left Raven?" She sounded surprised and angry again.

'_It's better than being caught.'_ The blue one reminded her, touching her cheek gently. She liked Shadow and supported him completely. The two organoids knew that one had to stay, and one had to go. There was no point in all of them being captured, and the humans would feel scared and betrayed without them.

'_Please forgive him.'_ Specula begged, trying to widen her bright eyes.

"We'll see." The woman sighed and patted her partner again.

* * *

Hours later only one of the three Guardian's was left. He stared at the injured boy's face. The room was dark now; the sympathetic doctors seemed to think that if he woke up in the night, he'd want to go right back to sleep.

The cuts on the teenager's face were given air, but the others were hidden behind stained bandages. One wrist was cuffed while the other was tightly wrapped up. His ribs were broken and so was one of his legs.

The murderer looked almost innocent and peaceful in his sleep, a ghost of his former self, the one before Prozen got to him. Karl's lips pressed together as he remembered how the boy had been when he first came. Sure he had been moody and annoying, clearly mentally damaged from seeing so many deaths so quickly, but there had been an innocence about him that was pure and now lost.

The Guardian's face saddened. "You had better wake up kid." He said, his hand swiping the boy's hair as he stood up and left.

"There's more than just Reese waiting for you."

* * *

**AN:** aww, now wasn't that cute? Don't expect another chapter too soon.


	3. Bella Jeta

* * *

**AN:** Dear God, I did it. I made an OC for this story. Ah well, I kinda planned it from the start, but don't worry, she won't play a really big role. You won't find out about her past or personal life or anything. You just learn a little about her personality. So anyway, as a heads up, she has the job I'd like if my Mangaka thing doesn't work will (but it WILL work out). I don't know how Forensics work, but I know what sort of information they're supposed to get.

Originally I was going to go about this in Reese talking Raven, or writing in a diary so it has kinda changed, don't worry about that, some of it will still happen. Just for the sake fo telling you, I was listening to the Sound Asleep version of 'Understanding' by Evanescence while writing this. Listen to it while reading any chapter of this fic and you'll understand why I mentioned it.

'Our Farewell' by Within Temptation also came on, but while I was writing this, not the fic. No, you see, right after finishing the final bits of this fic the song switched from 'Understanding' to 'All Stars'. Let me tell you, that could have been the happiest song in the world at that point.

Oh, and feel free to bag Bella's name. Bella Jeta, Jeta like Jaeta, not Jetta or Jita. Jaeta. 'Ay' sound.

**Disclaimer:** The only thing I own is this fic and Dr. Bella Jeta.

* * *

**Awaken**

**Chapter 3**

**Bella Jeta**

* * *

Reese woke up late the next day. She wasn't in the pale clothing most patients received. The Guardian Force deemed her too dangerous and forced her into bright orange. Needless to say she was heavily opposed. She did, after all, have blue hair, and it seriously clashed with fluorescent orange.

Her feet gently touched the cold white flaw. She'd picked the lock and began out of the room. The thick white sheets were messed up and subconsciously bothering her.

_I've got bigger things to worry about than messy beds_. She reminded herself. Shaking her head lightly she left the room.

She found to her content that the halls were empty. If anyone saw her, they'd surely try to arrest her again, and nobody wanted that.

Despite the seemingly deserted state of the hospital, she kept her senses pricked. You could never be too careful when doing something illegal, and thanks to her zoidian blood her senses were sharper than the average humans. Creepily sharper.

"Where are you?" She muttered, feeling her heart ache. Recently she'd gotten used to the feeling, not so long ago she'd been screaming her guts out and feeling sick because her _idiotic_ companion decided to take on the Deathsaurer.

_Men! More trouble than they're worth_. She thought bitterly. _Okay, maybe not._

She continued through the hospital, now and then dodging a nurse or two. She struggled to hide the bright clothing, but somehow managed to avoid contact with the nurses and even fewer doctors roaming around.

Eventually she made it to Raven's room. Cautiously opening the door she peered in. Her eyes stung with tears as she saw him lying weak on the bed. Swallowing hard she entered the room and made her way over to him soundlessly.

She flopped down on the bed and knitted her fingers together. Her bony elbows sunk into the soft mattress and she stared with hurting eyes at his face.

She brushed away the strands of hair that had fallen over his eyes. Her hand then strayed down the side of his face while her body trembled gently. Tears slid down her pale cheeks and blotched the orange material with their wet darkness.

Despite the scratches on his face, and how he was when awake, he seemed so peaceful. The dark mark on his cheek contrasted more than usual against his pale skin. This scared her.

"You can't die on me." She whispered sadly and placed her head down on his chest. She could feel his soft breathing, the weak rhythmic rise and fall beneath soft blankets. "You can't leave me to face this alone…"

* * *

Doctor Jeta waited calmly for her patient to enter the dark room. Beside her was a plain notepad and two pens just in case one ran out. There were two maroon couches placed opposite each other. Jeta liked her patients to be comfortable when reliving possibly traumatic events.

Hearing the knock she stood up and straitened her black skirt. She was probably the only one in the whole building in anything even close a suit. It didn't bother her.

She smiled politely as she opened the door. "Hello, I'm Doctor Jeta, but you can call me Bella if you'd prefer."

She received a death glare as the woman walked in.

_Oh goody_. She thought and sat back down on her couch, picking up the notepad and a pen. "Now, Reese, is it?"

The woman nodded glaring at the wall.

"Okay, what's your last name?"

"None of your business."

Jeta sighed and tapped her notepad with the pen. This could be a waste of time. "Tell me, Reese, how old are you?"

"About 56." She answered, now looking bored. "It's all that blood, keeps you looking nice and young."

The psychologist took more notes. That last comment had left her feeling queasy, sick, but she kept smiling nicely.

"Okay, so how did you meet Hiltz?"

"In a meadow of flowers. His red hair didn't look so funny then, it kind of blended in with all the pretty butterflies around us. There seemed to be a yellow, blue and pink haze around us with randomly glittery stuff floating by."

Jeta wrote something down, but wasn't one-hundred percent on what she meant. _Was she trying to be funny? Or is this just to throw me off?_

"Alright, how about Raven?"

"What about him?"

"How did you meet him?

She smiled. "Well you see, it was when Shadow was ill, I came to the rescue, not that he wanted rescuing. No, he didn't want my help, but I have ways of making people do what I want. My bugs knocked him out, choked him, and so he came. He remember some awful things while he was unconscious, another little trick of mine. I can make people remember what they're tried to so hard to forget."

Jeta felt shivers run down her spine. Reese's words were cold and lathered with venom, but there was a daring smile on her face. Reese wanted to her play along, wanted her to run scared. Reese wasn't happy, and so she decided to try and take it out on someone else.

"So, you met as enemies?" Jeta asked, trying to continue as if nothing happened. There was a tiny shake to her voice as she was becoming unnerved, but she wasn't the only disturbed one, Reese was getting annoyed that her mind games hadn't worked yet.

"I guess you could say that."

"And when did that all change?"

"When I tried to stab him." Reese answered, still smiling.

Jeta wrote some more notes down and tried desperately to clear her mind. _There has to be a way to figure her out! I won't believe she's insane, not yet…_ She thought. Bella loathed thinking people weren't mentally okay until the third or fourth session at the earliest.

"So how about we talk about your life before meeting Hiltz and Raven, now?"

"If you'd like, after all, you're the psychologist, I'm the psychic, Bella." She said, batting her eyelashes with poorly faked innocence.

"Reese," Jeta sighed, finally having enough. "I understand that what you're going through is hard, but you have to accept the help you're being offered. You can't go this alone."

In Reese's own mind and heart she knew this, but sadness can change a person, and right now Reese wasn't listening to reason. The only thing she could focus on was the pain, and hurt like hell. Her heart broken bones ached, her cuts ached and her heart ached, and on top of all that she was feeling tired from both pain killers and worry.

So Bella's words made something snap within her, but Reese had come along way from when she first encountered the Guardian Force, and so instead of killing the forensic psychologist she stormed out of the room, scaring all passerbies with her obvious rage.

* * *

Van and Thomas were calmly drinking tea together when Dr. Jeta walked in. Immediately they felt the tension radiating off her.

The forensic psychologist tucked a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. Her painted nails retreated back from the blonde to rest down on her briefcase, which was gripped tightly by her pale fingers.

Her facial features were tight with stress and her stilettos clicked rhythmically on the floor as she strode over to the two boys.

The briefcase hit the ground and finally she let the stress out in a rant.

"Psychopaths, pedophiles, sadists, masochists, abused, deluded, pyromaniacs, mentally impaired, depressed, completely sane…Van, I have seen all of those, I wouldn't mind having them as my patients, I really wouldn't, but you…you give me HER!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Van whined, putting his cup on the sink. "Krueger hired you."

"On your advice." She said snappishly. "Don't think I don't know it was you that suggested me!"

"Hey, he asked me to find out who the best person for the job was!"

"Why didn't you give him someone with more experience?" She demanded, her voice becoming painfully high pitched.

"Because you were the most accurate."

"I've only done around thirty cases!"

"If you can't handle it, you shouldn't be in the profession."

Bella spun around and saw Krueger there in the doorway. She thought she had recognized his gruff voice.

"It's not that I can't handle it." The psychologist grumbled, turning her face away. Her now messy, pale hair obstructed his view of her fair face.

"Then I don't want to hear anymore complaints." With that he left.

Bella let out a rough breath and began sulking.

"He's right, you know." Thomas reminded her, pulling cheese out of the fridge. "It's not our fault."

* * *

Reese had her wrists cuffed again and was being led back to her hospital room. The soldier in charge was Karl, who tried to hide his fear. The Guardian had been possessed by her once, and knew she could easily do it again.

"Can we stop off at Raven's room?" The blue-haired one asked. She knew that once she was back in her room she wouldn't be able to get out easily. "I know you want to see him too."

* * *


	4. Pride

**AN:** I decided to get out of my break to continue because of a one word review. It's the power people, even the shortest things will make me continue, it can take less than a second too. Anyway, I was writing the bit with Reese while listening to Linkin Park's 'No Road's Left' and reminiscing on my last few years. Let me tell you guys something about me. I have never lost anyone close to me, I've never been depressed, I've never trully suffered, and yet sometimes I think I'm worse off. Sometimes I wish I'd been dperessed or had something terrible happen to me, nobody dying (because I can't wish pain upon those I like!), but sometimes I've wanted to suffer so badly just so I could cheer up my friends. You see, I'm the only one of them that hasn't suffered. It drives me nuts. I wanted to put that in a fic and it just slipped out. I'm kinda happy with it. So anyway, now you know.

**Dislcamer:** I don't own zoids, I do own Dr. Bella Jeta and this fic.

Oh, and the author's note and ending parts were written/uploaded at 11pm, go easy on me. I hit page break instead of itallic at one point, okay? Eck, Sleeeep...

* * *

**_Awaken_**

**_Chapter 4_**

**_Pride_**

Out in orbit Zi seemed a lot like Earth. From that distance it seemed that there were only three major differences, the first was the whole two moons thing, the second was that there were a lot fewer continents, and the final difference was that despite the vast amount of visible green, there was a considerable amount of sandy coloured earth.

If you zoomed in very, very closely too a section of this sandy earth you'd find yourself staring at the middle of a gigantic desert home to millions of crazy, crazy people. The sand was bright and pale, heavily contrasting the lone organoid shaking grains loose from his armour plating. His blue eyes were tightly shut and his dark tail swung side to side dangerously as he tried to send the sand flying.

He finally stopped and his lizard head rose, turning to the right. The blue eyes narrowed as he tried to focus on the distant zoids. They seemed to coming close at a fair speed.

_Must be the Guardian Force._ He thought looking at his shadow. He was sure they had been hunting for him ever since Raven had been taken to hospital. The organoid had fled, aware that there was no point in all of them getting caught.

Raven had escaped them before without his help, but Shadow wasn't so sure he could do it again. Specula would have been restrained and Reese's bugs may not be able to get into the jail, so the only way to get them out would be to have him come and rescue them once they healed.

Shadow waited for the zoids to come closer despite his growing impatience. The desert sun did him no good, and all that sand annoyed him too. The heat still was by far the worst of all the things he had to endure. His black metal kept the heat it and while that was great for the ectotherm in cold temperatures, it made it too hard for him to cool down in sunny deserts.

He had been right about the zoids, there were all from the Guardian Force. There were three of them, led by a blue Blade Liger. As they came closer, the trio slowed down as if they were afraid of frightening him.

Shadow believed this was the type of situation that made human's roll their eyes in that strange way only they could. He was still unfamiliar with a lot of human habits, but he had learned some of the more immature ones from his partner, Raven.

He switched his weight from foot to foot with impatience and lowers his upper body, growling at the three Guardian zoids. He could sense that Zeke –Van's organoid– was trying pitifully to sneak up on him. The innocent white one knew nothing of stealth.

* * *

Van's eyes narrowed, confusion on his face as he watched the black organoid. Shadow was dangerous and cruel, but he had not attacked yet. Something about that just wasn't right.

"Are you okay?" Irvine asked over a private link. He was older than Van and though his piloting wasn't as good, his greater experience was a very useful tool to have. Once working as a mercenary he joined Van when he went after Zeke and eventually joined the Guardian Force as well.

"Something's up…" Van answered, alarm bells going nuts in his head as a smirk formed on Shadow's face.

Before anyone could react, Shadow turned and roared his fangs only inches from Zeke's face. The white organoid had been trying to quietly get close enough to Shadow to pounce and certainly didn't expect such a sudden, hostile action from the black one.

Zeke jumped and whimpered, forgetting he was supposed to be the scary one this time. _What was that for?_ He asked, cocking his head and looking upset. He saw Shadow grin happily, his tail-tip swishing back and forth like a happy dog's.

_Fun._ The black one answered honestly, stepping closer. _You're so easy to scare._

_Meany_! Zeke huffed unhappily, trying to look big again. He stood up straighter and tried looking down at Shadow who somehow appeared bigger than Zeke. The white one narrowed his red eyes and growled, preparing for a fight.

_Do you really think that you can bring me down?_ Shadow asked, lowering himself and stepping forward. His eyes had narrowed as well and his teeth were barely parted, a snarl on his face and deep growling emitting from his plated throat. He was completely certain that if they did fight, he'd come out on top.

Shadow was built for combat. Unlike Zeke, his toes were more like claws, sharp and easily able to do serious damage to an inexperienced fighter. That wasn't all either. Shadow's head had four spikes that he could use to tear open Zeke's throat with a simple head but. The white one had nothing.

Despite his serious disadvantage, Zeke still didn't back down. He charged at Shadow, head low to protect the vulnerable underside of his neck. He used his boosters for extra speed, making it harder to Shadow to dodge or counter.

Zeke felt sudden despair as Shadow slipped to the side of the oncoming organoid and the spike on the end of his tail came rushing forward. He felt like such an idiot for charging at a more experienced fighter so recklessly but to his surprise didn't get hit.

His face snapped around and he came to a skidding stop, jaw open as he watched the black one fly away. For a while that's all everyone did, stare at the fleeing organoid. _He's so much like Raven._ Zeke thought after he finally recovered from the shock. He was shaking his head in wonder. _The moment he sees he's on top he runs…_

* * *

The larger zoids finally caught up, their pilots angry. "We missed him!" Irvine seethed, banging his fist on the Lightning Saix's dashboard. His feline mecha growled with him, annoyed at both Shadow and his violent pilot. Why couldn't he just keep his emotions inside?

"We'll find him again." Van sighed, for some reason none of this seemed to faze him.

"Raven and Reese were gunned down by a Genosaurer, Shadow's free and alone, how are you still able to keep your cool?" Irvine asked. His violet eyes were filled with confusion.

"I'm certain it's nothing we can't handle." He answered, closing his eyes calmly. Zeke fused back with the Liger, but was clearly disappointed with himself for not chasing Shadow. "Anyway, I don't believe that Shadow will attack without a command. He and Raven…they just don't work that way."

"So you think he's safe unless Raven gets out?" Irvine asked and they turned back towards base. The ride home would be a long one despite how fast their zoids were.

Van nodded. "To be honest, I don't think they'll attack even if they reunite. I think they just want to be away from us."

Irvine scoffed. He had good reason to hate Raven. The sixteen year old had killed his Command Wolf only months ago, and on top of that he hadn't seen the changed Raven. He still considered him a very dangerous threat, one that would not cease until death dragged him into silence.

* * *

Van was about to enter Raven's room when he heard a muffled zoid from inside. Curiously he stopped and pressed himself lightly against the white door. A light on the ground made the hospital floor appear to be glowing. He focused his eyes on it, thinking and trying to listen all at once.

Hospital's creeped him out. It wasn't just how pale they were, or how they held so much suffering, it was the atmosphere. They were so quiet and sad. It was like something was choking the building and everything within its walls. His skin prickled with Goosebumps as he thought about it.

"Raven…" The voice said quietly. The words were barely audible to the eavesdropping boy. "There's something someone said to me…they said that when you're in a coma you can still hear what's going on around you… I don't know if it's true…but I guess there's no harm in trying, right? People already think I'm insane…They just don't understand." The voice added bitterly before it went on. "I miss you, so does Specula, she asks me about you whenever they let me see her. We aren't the only ones that are worried. No, there are a few people who check up on you that I'd never expect…"

There was silence for a while and Van took a peak in. The woman sitting beside Raven's still form was in bright orange that clashed horribly with her blue hair. He recognized the model-thin frame as Reese's and he got scared again. As much as he doubted they'd be a threat to society, he sure as hell didn't want to get on their bad sides. They were known for having temper issues.

He retreated back behind the door but continued to listen in, his eyes wide and alert, flicking from side to side to make sure nobody snuck up on him.

"Did you know we have to get psychologically analyzed? It's a very fun process." She added in sarcastic tones and then continued normally again. "I don't know if we have the same chick or not, but mine is called Bella Jeta. What kind of a name is that? I'd never forgive me parents if they named me that…" She laughed and then her eyes widened and she seemed afraid. "I'm so sorry! I forgot…"

She shook her head, tears finding their way back into the back of her eyes. She forced them away from the air but the pain of the memory stayed. She had once teased him about his parents' choice of name, wondering why he had a girl's name, but he hadn't responded nicely. It was a touchy subject for him, he stayed by his parents' decision fiercely, but she knew he didn't like it.

She sighed, her head resting on her hands. Her thin fingers were knitted together and if Raven had opened his eyes, the only part of her face she'd be able to see were her sad, thoughtful green eyes. They seemed to be begging his eyes to look at her, to just show he was awake…

"She's a strange one." Reese continued, her voice a little cracked. "I scared her yesterday, yet she still tried again today as if nothing happened. She went to shake my hand, she was smiling again and as polite as last time…it was so strange… She asked me about my childhood, so I entered her mind. I brought up hers. It was so different to us Raven. She had everything, everything we didn't. She had a stable family with siblings and two parents. They rarely fought; they always helped each other, always shared and were always so considerate of everyone. It was…it was so…amazing. I never thought it was possible." She choked on the lump in her throat and wiped her eyes. "All we've ever known is sadness, and she can somehow say something that clicks though she's never felt what we have. She's gone without feeling like all you can do is cry and try to die, yet she still seems to know all those weak moments…I…I just don't understand."

Van felt tears welling up in his own eyes and he slipped down to the ground, looking at his feet. He didn't like people being so sad, no matter how he felt about them. He curled up. His knees were pulled in tight and felt his mind wondering. Reese's words had brought back his own personal demons. There was always a nagging guilt about his mother, and that the piece of him that went missing when his father left.

Inside the room he could hear her sobbing and without looking he knew what she was doing. She had her face in the sheets over his chest so she could hear his heat and hide her head. Her arms would be on her head too, as if she was trying to hide herself from the world. Reese and Raven were proud. He knew they'd always try to push away before they accepted help or comfort.

* * *

**Final Author's Note (FAN):** I forgot to mention this in the original upload, but the reason I said Shadow was an ectotherm is because he's a machine that never turns off. It would be easy for him to overheat if he wasn't careful.


	5. Warrior

**AN:** So...yeah, this one took a while. It's kinda got little to do with the plot, but if anyone has compared the Wolf's Rain manga and anime together, you will all know character developement is essential. It's funny coz in the documents I'm trying to work on my frehcn couting and I keep switching from spanish (while I've never actually learnt), but I think I labelled this one as fifteen, which one is cinq?

Heart, one word is not a problem. I'm just glad you reviewed , though it is nice to have a full sentance.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own zoids but someday I will.

* * *

**_Awaken_**

**_Chapter 5_**

**_Warriors_**

Van felt arms wrap around him and pull him up. He stirred, struggling gently against the limbs. He was still partially asleep and dreaming about his mother. He didn't remember much about her, and it was a topic that rarely came up at home. The Freiheit siblings had enough pain just by being alone- they didn't need to recall why they were alone. Of course, the two of them still soldiered on as if nothing of it bothered them. They still had friends, and that's what matters.

Light penetrated his eyelids, disturbing his sleep further. He shut them tighter and moaned, trying to block it out. There was a soft voice that seemed so distorted and strange to him. It was like a foreign language to him in his sleepy state. He moaned again and struggled a little harder, eventually feeling a wet, cold sensation hit his face like a pile of bricks.

"GAH!" He cried in surprise, eyes snapping open and suddenly fully awake.

"Shh!" The blonde in front of him insisted, motioning with her hands. She stopped and smiled innocently at him, her face as kind as always. Her red eyes had that look of constant happiness that was infectious and one of her best qualities.

Van couldn't stay mad at her, but he tried anyway, crossing his arms over his chest and looking grumpily down the corridor. She giggled, which only made him blush as he got all embarrassed. He decided to then poke his tongue out at her, which only made her cock her head and smile some more.

"We've been looking for you Van." She said softly. "We got worried when you didn't come back from retrieval."

He sighed, playful mood disappearing fast. "Sorry, I just wanted to check up on him." He looked back into the room. He half-expected Reese to still be sitting there, her head down on his chest and arms covering her as if to protect her from some unseen foe. The image looked strange with Raven alone.

"There's been no change." Fiona told him. She couldn't help but wonder that something was strange. She knew that Van was kind, but she didn't know that his care extended to people like Raven. She wondered how the boy would react if he opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Van.

Probably call for Shadow.

That was the other issue… "Van…" Fiona said carefully, as if she was attempting to walk on a minefield. "There's been another sighting of Shadow. The reports are from farmers in your home town."

Van turned sharply to her. "What? The Wind colony?"

She nodded her big crimson eyes full of concern and sympathy. She couldn't tell how Van was feeling, he seemed worried, but both Irvine and Karl Shubaltz had reported that he hadn't been worried yesterday. Maybe he thought that Shadow wasn't just roaming around anymore.

"What time is it?" Van asked as he began to walk out. Fiona was at his heels quickly, hoping he wouldn't rush out to do anything stupid. She had to jog a little to keep up with him now, the training had put him in the best shape he's ever been in, but Fiona was still the same.

"Slow down." She begged. "It's 5 AM. Everyone else is still asleep. I woke you so you weren't too sore to go after Shadow." She watched him turn to her with a look of annoyance. "Please Van, you mustn't worry too much. We all have faith and so should you. We've sent hellcats to check it out and make sure everything's fine."

Van sighed, putting a hand to his head. "I'm sorry Fiona, you're right. I'm worrying too much." He still seemed nervous and tense, but she let it go. He was at least trying to calm down now.

* * *

Reese sat with her hands on her thighs and head lowered a little. Her blue fringe had grown out since the battle against the Deathsaurer, and now gravity pulled it over her eyes. The green irises looked duller today, they had a distant, thoughtful look about them, but the sad tones were more obvious than before. Her sorrow was like a disease, growing and getting worse by the minute.

On top of that it was infectious.

It wasn't just Raven that worried her, Shadow and Specula were often on her mind. She was so worried for her organoid. It just wasn't fair that they were kept apart for so long. At least they still had the psychic link and there was nothing the Guardian Force could do to break that.

She looked at her injured arm, wrapped up tightly in the plaster cast. Pretty soon they'd deem her healthy enough to move to a cell. She wasn't looking forward to it. The hospital beds were at least a little bit soft and though she had to put up with accusing looks from the medical staff it was better than being stuck with fellow criminals.

Sometimes it didn't pay to heal so quickly.

"What're you doing Shadow?" She wondered quietly as she tried to touch Shadow's conscious. She grimaces, finding him far out of range. _Maybe I should send a bug…_ She mused but didn't act upon it. She didn't want the soldiers to know about it. They had been warned about insects. Besides, Shadow wasn't an idiot and he wasn't weak either. It'd take a lot to bring him down.

That didn't mean he was off the hook. When she saw him next she'd give that organoid a piece of her mind. He left them to be imprisoned while he escaped!

_You know why._ Specula said in her mind. _He's waiting for Raven to wake up so he can come and get us._

_They'll suspect that._ She sent back moodily. Even if her organoid had a point, she was still mad at Shadow for ditching them.

Specula sighed and dropped it. She doubted there was anything she could do to convince the pilot. Reese was so driven by her emotions.

The young woman also sighed. She let herself fall backwards, the blankets softening her landing. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Whatever happened, she was certain it'd be different to anything they had ever faced before. The GF had most likely learned from their mistake when they imprisoned Raven. Security would be far greater.

* * *

Meanwhile Shadow wandered through the wind village without worry. The villagers posed no threat to him, in fact those that were awake they moved away, pressing themselves to walls or shutting themselves indoors. Along with that he'd easily be able to see any big zoids that came near, so he had every reason to be carefree.

He tilted his head up, his blue eyes studying the sky. It had an orange tinge to it as the sun started to rise. Morning had finally come and the sunlight was a relief to the organoid. It was annoying seeing everything blue.

His gaze moved back down and set itself on the man in front of him. He cocked his head at the human who looked stubborn. A little bit like a soldier. In one hand was a cross and the other a gun. The human wore a long dress that looked as if it'd be uncomfortable and only get in the way.

"Leave this town." He said firmly, eyes locked on Shadow. "We don't want you here. If you leave I won't shoot you, but if you stay…" He let the threat hang and waited patiently but on edge for the organoid to respond.

_What a strange creature…_Shadow thought, taking a step closer. _Challenging me with only a gun? He looks like he's going to pee himself as it is!_

Shadow lowered himself and was about to growl and pull his wings out to make the human scram, but he reconsidered. _I don't want them to think I'm going to hurt them._ He raised his body back up and made a noise that he assumed would be gentle and soothing, however humans are dull, unpredictable beings at times that have the annoying habit of mistake peace for war.

There was a loud bang and the bullet zoomed towards him. Shadow let out a short, pained sound as the bullet collided with his breast-plate. The bullet failed to pierce his armor as the gun was designed for human flesh and not his metal, but it still hurt. He studied the throbbing area. His eyes saddened childishly as he noticed the bullet left a blackened dent.

He let out a huff and turned back to the human, his eyes slitting and from deep in his throat he made an annoyed sounding growl. He lowered himself, minimizing the target, but making it more likely the bullet would come for his vulnerable face. He knew it was risky, but it was instinct for an organoid to assume that posture when feeling threatened.

"I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you don't leave." The man reminded the growling creature. Shadow had to give him credit, he had guts. Most people would have run screaming by now, but not this guy. He stood his ground well, but that didn't mean he could mask his fear.

The tension was broken when the sound of zoids reached both their ears. Shadow lifted his head and stopped growling. His attention left the man and focused fully on the Liger. _Well, well, look who decided to show._ He thought. Excitement flowed through him and made him smile. His tail flicked impatiently.

The man turned back to the organoid and took the opportunity to fire a bullet into its relatively vulnerable stomach. With a shriek it dropped and thrashed, barely able to take the pain. It was a sad sight, something so powerful acting so weak, but the ex-military medic was relieved it was no longer posing any sort of threat to the town.

"Father!" Van cried happily, seeing who it was that had taken Shadow down. The priest had helped raise him when his father had died and the boy held much respect for him.

Van and Zeke left the liger, running towards the Father and the injured organoid. Zeke shot out ahead to make sure Shadow didn't hurt anyone, more confident and focused than the last time. He landed in front of Shadow, standing guard over him. The black one's eyes met his and there was a look of anger in sapphires.

Suddenly he shot to his feet and roared at Zeke, unhappy that the white one had caught him looking so weak. He lowered himself, displaying the two horns on top of his head that glinted in the fresh light. His eyes were menacing and daring, and Zeke could see he was trying to salvage his pride. His claws gleamed too and he flexed them, growling deeply as he did.

"Oh no!" Cried the Father. "This isn't good!"

"It's okay." Van said, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "Zeke'll be fine."

Zeke was hesitant to attack, looking for a weak spot. Shadow was an unnerving fighter than had a threatening aura to him. It was easy enough to charge up to him to save someone, but when it was very scary when you became the target. Luckily he saw the vulnerable spot.

Zeke spun, the blade on his tail aimed for Shadow's already damaged stomach. It missed by centimeters as Shadow shifted back. Zeke saw over his shoulder that Shadow was surging forward in the moments he was unable to fight back. Right as he had completed his spin Shadow was upon him, jaws spread and aimed for the face while his clawed feet tried grabbing onto the organoid beneath him. His fingers scratched at the white one, blindly seeking out the weak points.

There was another shot and Shadow screamed again, this time pushing away from Zeke and spreading his wings. This was getting too much. He wasted no time in jetting off, resisting the urge to cry as he flew. His stomach was still in bad shape and now his face was also damaged.

He heard shouting behind him and then gunfire. _He will pay._ Shadow thought maliciously as the bullets missed by a mile. Then things got really bad for him. Heat rushed passed his right wing and he looked down to see more gunfire heading towards him, this time from zoids.

He went higher, trying to throw off their aim, but still some missed. He was, after all, flying very fast. Suddenly the air around him exploded with missiles that hit each other. It took all his skill to dodge them all and he was well aware that if even one hit, he was done for.

It seemed like forever before he got to a safe spot to land. It was more a crash as the weakened organoid landed in a heap, his legs giving way beneath him. He groaned pitifully and tried weakly to curl around himself, whimpering and closing his eyes as he did. _This is not good._ He thought. _Raven…Specula…Reese… please forgive me…please…_

* * *

**AN:** Feel free to give me suggestion via reveiw, I will try to add them and credit will be given where credit is due. Don't be too surprised if I mutate your idea, but I will still give you credit for the orginal idea.


	6. New Mission

**AN:** Yeah yeah yeah, I am so slow to update. I wonder how many of you remember the good old days when it took me less than a day to write a chapter? Just keep in mind the quality was lower. So there.

Anyway! How are you all? I really enjoy the emotional moments of how people/organoids mess up and don't relaise whre they went wrong, coz I can relate. People I know say the most stupid things to each other and miss the obvious. I do it, people do it to me, and I watch as it happens to others.

It sucks big time.

**Disclaimer: I don't own zoids.**

* * *

**Awaken**

**Chapter six**

**A New Mission and Grasping the Concept**

Van watched as Reese passed him, her head down and eyes closed. She was on her way to her see Dr. Jeta for another session. She didn't look pissed off like the first couple of times she went, but she didn't look like she was in a good mood either.  
Who could blame her? A total stranger was supposed to assess her life.

He wanted to tell her they had found Shadow, but he knew she may find out what happened to him, and the last thing they needed was to anger Reese. She was unstable as it was. The stress from Raven's condition and her own situation had made her mind seem to stop functioning properly. It scared Van a little to think that a psychic may not have full control of their own mind.

The three Guardian Force pilots strode into the next room, now out of earshot of Reese. The room was large and rectangular, with little furniture and a very military look. Fiona, Moonbay, Dr. D and Herman were all in there waiting for the pilots. They had solemn looks on their faces, especially Herman.

"We've sent search parties after Shadow." Was his opening line. "If they find anything, then you'll know."

"What do we do 'til then?" Irvine asked, putting his hands on his hips and cocking his body. "Just sit and wait?"

Herman shook his head, and was about to speak when Fiona beat him to it. There was a certain tone to her voice than worried them. The girl was clearly spooked by her own words.

"Reese told us what happened." She began. "They were shot down by a charged particle beam. For some time before that, Specula had been suspicious of something. Reese said that Specula couldn't identify what it was, but she felt a little like something was out of place."

"And you think that whatever was making her feel this way was what hurt them?" Van asked.

Fiona nodded, her expression telling all. The blonde was clearly troubled by this, and she had good reason to be. They knew Raven was a good pilot, and so was Reese, so whoever took them down was powerful, but they hadn't suspected it'd be a Geno-type. That is, assuming it was a Geno-type. All zoids with Particle Cannons were strong, but they didn't come wild. You had to make them in labs.

Which made this even worse.

"All the scouts at this base are out searching for Shadow, which still our first priority. However, we do need pilots to scout around for this zoid." He turned his full attention to Irvine and Van. "I want you two to roam around near the attack site and see what you find."

"They'd have left the area by now." Irvine pointed out.

"That's probably true, but it's the only clue we have, and you never know, you may find something useful."

* * *

Shadow heard buzzing around him. He tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't go away. Couldn't they see he was tired and sore? Bugs were so inconsiderate. Biting people, making other animals their hosts, contaminating food, stealing food, and even waking up sleepy organoids.

He opened his eyes, now angry at the annoying insect. The moment he spotted it he snapped at it, growling dangerously.

_Stop! Stop!_

He paused, eye wide and confused. Since when did bugs talk? He cautiously moved his snout closer and sniffed it, wanting to know exactly what it was. It smelt familiar.

_Shadow! It's me._

He jumped up in surprise. The pain was sudden and great, forcing him down on all fours. He whined from the stinging and lowered his head. _Specula?_

_Do you need help?_ The sapphire one asked through the same coloured bug. There was a lot of concern in her voice that Shadow was unfamiliar with. It was sometimes heard when she was talking to Reese, but ever since the episode of crying and screaming for Raven they hadn't needed concern.

_I'll be fine._ Shadow answered. _I just got a little injured._

_I'm psychic, Shadow, what good do you think lying will do?_

_If you knew the situation why did you bother asking? _Shadow snapped back, glaring at the bug. He could almost see Specula smirk. He hated that smug look, she happened to use it on him a lot when she knew the answer to a riddle that he didn't. A quick flick with his tail would since her. Sadly, Reese scolded Raven whenever that happened. Something about controlling his organoid. Shadow would just roll his eyes.

_I knew it! _She crowed._ You ARE hurt!_

He could almost see her happy dance.

Shadow growled at the bug. Specula was starting to annoy him. They didn't get along like the humans did, which reminded him…

_How is Raven doing? Has he stirred yet?_

Specula shook her head, momentarily forgetting he could see her. _No,_ She said quickly. _He hasn't shown any sign of waking up soon._

Shadow growled again, now angry at Raven. The foolish human was being so selfish. He flicked his tail and stood up again, snapping his jaws. Why did Raven have to be a sleep? Shadow didn't understand. No one did. Surely he couldn't have been injured that badly. They must have overlooked something.

_Shadow…_ Specula sounded sad. Even if they didn't get along, they didn't dislike each other. Neither one wanted the other to be upset.

He grunted and turned back to the bug. _I'm fine._ He told her, anger apparent in his voice. _You go stay with Reese, and don't tell her I've been hurt._

_She already knows._

Shadow groaned. The zoidian would surely fuss when she next saw him, not only that, but as icy as Reese first appeared, she was really a weak and emotional human, at least by Shadow's standards. Secretly he thought that Raven could get that way at times.

He grimaced, remembering how the pilot had been in the time between the Deathsaurer and his coma.

* * *

"_Shadow…" Raven said one night. I was unexpected and sudden in the darkness. Above them the stars glittered brightly, and his partner seemed transfixed in the lights. The organoid liked them too, though he didn't have the same habit of getting lost in them that the boy did._

_Shadow looked at Raven, lifting his head to do so. The human didn't look back at him, though the blue glow was attractive to human eyes. Most glowing things were._

_The organoid growled softly, letting the human know he heard. He wanted to nudge Raven's cheek and play like they used to, but he resisted, understanding Raven had something on his mind. When humans wanted to say something it was best to let them speak, and listen when they did. Not so much to hear their advice, but instead because people, especially Raven, were emotionally fragile and felt offended, neglected and rejected when they thought they were being ignored._

_That, and they had the annoying habit of 'forgetting', saying things 'don't matter' and/ or changing their mind. All of those lead to suspense and an organoid feeling curious and cheated. Right now Raven hesitated and looked as if he was about to do one of the above._

_Thankfully he didn't._

"_What'll we do after this? We have no place to go, and it's not as if people are just going to forget and forgive. We've hurt so many…taken lives, and homes, we're hated…What can we do?" He sounded so hopeless and lost. So troubled and young. It was easy to forget he was only sixteen, only a child._

_Shadow's eyes saddened and he resisted no longer, gently rubbing his snout against Raven's cheek. The boy smiled, but not with his eyes. As good as the warmth felt on the cold night, it did nothing for how he felt inside. He was still squirming and sick, still wrestling with himself and the urge to scream, run and hide. He wanted to curl up and cry alone, to never be found. He didn't want to face what he'd done and at strong. He wanted to be done with this._

You should really take to Reese about this_. Shadow advised. The very thought of talking about emotions intimidated him. He much preferred combat to philosophy. It was simple, easy, and straight forward. You destroy them, you win, and you avoid damage, none of this grey area crap and taking people feelings into account. That just made things depressing and confused._

_He wanted Raven to realize that._

_Shadow made a high pitched whine, much like that of a dog's and slowly lowered his head onto Raven's stomach, watching as the boy closed his eyes. There was something wrong about the scene, but Shadow wasn't about to ask. Things would sort themselves out; fate would make sure of that._

"_You're right." Raven sighed before he closed his eyes. They both knew he wouldn't speak to her, but neither one would say it. They didn't want to admit it, they just wanted it go away._

* * *

**FAN:** first off, I'm using FAN as the ending note from now on. Y'know, Final Author's Note. Anyway, I figured I wouldn't go into too much for the flashback. It's Shadow's POV coz I didn't want to spell everything out. I find that annoying, and more fun to read if it's not so blunt, though personally I think it's kinda obvious. However, I did write it, and so that means I know exactly how all characters are feeling.

At once.

Which sucks for me, because to me it's not just words. As I have said before, I embody the characters, not their thoughts, just there feelings.

The last thing I'd like to say, is thankyou for those that have left reveiws, I know I don't get back to most of you, but it is greatly appreciated and I love hearing from you. The reason I want you guys to post reveiws is because it lets me know how many like it, and what parts you like/dislike. I will try to put in your suggestions and put at least some focus on what you like. Krixel likes organoids and their partners interacting, so I decided to put some of that in this chappie (and there will be more to come), and Shadowrebirth37's suggestion hasn't been forgotten either!


	7. Freyed

**AN:** Sooo...long wait hey? Sorry about that, but I had to go.

Anyway, here it is, partially written before I left, partially after. I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own zoids.

* * *

**Awaken**

**Chapter Seven**

**Freyed**

* * *

"It'll be okay." Jeta said, patting her patient's back and rubbing warmly. She had a look of concern and sadness, guilty that her session had pushed Reese to tears. The girl looked pathetic when she cried, but Jeta would never tell anyone that. It would be a horrible to thing to hear, even if it was the truth. Tears were streaming down and her face was so twisted when she wept, she was going red and her body shook so violently.

The psychologist finally gave in and hugged the patient, holding her tightly and slowly rocking. "It'll be okay." She whispered again, putting her head against Reese's and listening to the sobs. Bella hated it when people cried, it yanked her heartstrings, but she had to see it quite often. It was possibly the biggest downside of her job.

"How…do…you…know?" Reese asked, a gasp between each word as she tried to calm herself and force breathing to become even and controlled. Her green eyes opened a fraction and looked up at the blonde with such despair, but such hope. The blue-haired one wanted to be told he'll awaken safely, she wanted to be sure he was going to live through this and she wanted to be told that everything would work out for them.

Bella couldn't predict what would happen, she didn't know Raven's condition other than he was in a coma, and she didn't know how the Court would decide, but she still said that things would work out, that Reese shouldn't fear because Raven didn't seem like the person to give up. "I can't give my professional opinion on him." She continued. "But from what I've seen he's not the type to give up, he won't run and hide and leave you alone." She wiped away the hair getting in Reese's eyes, noting the childlike look of dependence in those eyes and smiled warmly at her. "I do, however, know a bit about you, and I think that you're the type that doesn't give in easily either. You should never give up hope, Reese, because without it you have nothing. Hope is the one thing that is stronger than both life and death. If you have hope, then you can do anything, get through even the darkest tunnel. Hope won't easily desert you, and it won't fade away. As long as you keep on believing in the future, you will have one."

Reese smiled and laughed a little. She was a bit stunned by the passionate speech, and the look in Bella Jeta's eyes was funny. There was a glint, that though she was now being laughed at, didn't die. It made Reese stop, keep smiling, but stop, and watch, fascinated by such an unmoving thing.

"How is it that you've been through nothing, but still come up with stuff like that?" Reese asked, sniffing. She was still wiping tears from her eyes, the pain was still there, but she was beginning to control herself again. She wanted to know, so she could tell Raven, she burned to say to him what she had told her. She felt inside that Raven had lost his hope, and she needed to rekindle that fire, make him believe that there was something for him when he woke.

"I'm empathetic." She answered and stood, extending a hand for Reese, who seemed confused by it at first. Then, she took it and Jeta gently pulled her up, allowing the patient to catch her balance on her.

"Empathetic?"

"I can relate to other people. That's why I chose this job, so I could help people who felt guilty. I would have become a clinical psychologist, but I think I'd go insane or get depressed or something if I put myself in their shoes." She smiled at Reese again who nodded, looking thoughtful.

"I understand." She said slowly, and then added, "I hate it when I enter the minds of insane people. It's so confused…"

The blonde smirked, not a snide one, an amused one. Humour. Good.

* * *

"It'd help if we knew what to look for." Irvine grumbled. They had finally reached the area where the Genobreaker had been taken down. Scraps of metal flecked the pale sand with silver and red. At first Irvine had thought that perhaps the red was the pilot's blood, but a closer inspection revealed it was just the outer armour.

"Anything." Van answered, stepping forward with his Liger before both he and the zoid turned to Thomas. The younger Shubaltz had managed to convince the high-ups he should come by reminding them Beek's ability for analysis. Originally they only wanted speedy zoids, but the pilot had a good point.

The wreckage wasn't isolated, the wind had blown parts everywhere, and the sand had rusted, damaged and buried what remained. Though the Guardian Force, mostly Dr. D, had tried to pick up all the pieces, the zoid had been mostly covered by the time they got there. That was what made the three pilots so certain that they needed Beek.

"Analyze the metal," Thomas ordered his home-made organoid. The program scanned the fragments and reported back in it's language of beeps and whistles that only Thomas knew.

He read the on-screen info quickly and sent it over to the other pilots. It told them that the damaged had been caused by severe heat, most likely a particle beam. It also helped them find the direction and distance, but the bits had been tampered with and changed, so the direction wasn't very accurate.

"If we can remember how the Genobreaker was facing, we may be able to tell.' Van suggested. He didn't like their grim expressions or the weight bearing down on them with the sun. "It may not be one hundred percent, but it will at least help."

Thomas nodded. "It's all we have. Wasn't it facing west? So…the beam came from the north then, it seems… quite a distance away too. Damn it, why didn't their radars pick it up?" He sounded frustrated, and his fingers were knotted through his blonde hair.

"Whatever it is, we can't underestimate it, or the pilot." Irvine reminded them.

Merely moments later they found light raining down on them. The bright whiteness blotting out everything.

* * *

Back at the Guardian Force base, Reese had been allowed to visit Specula. It had taken a long to allow for that, considering the danger, and they had wanted Van and Zeke there, just in case the pair decided to attack them head on together. As it happened, the only security were ten cameras, electronic bugging devices and a total of forty men guarding the room, ten in, thirty out.

Specula's head rose from the grey floor, her tail tip wagging like a dog's. Her yellow eyes were big and happy, and her torso frozen in spot. The blue armour was dull compared to what it originally was, and the low lighting didn't do a thing to improve that image.

Reese took a step forward, her arms outstretched and body curved down towards her partner who watched her closely and with growing excitement. The zoidian almost laughed at her organoid's expression until Specula finally snapped out of her frozen state and leaped up onto Reese, tackling her down. Reese laughed as her partner rubbed her blue snout along her partner's pale fleshy cheek.

"I'd expect that from Shadow." The teenager giggled, finally getting Specula off her long enough to sit up. The organoid didn't mind and sat still as her partner rubbed her snout affectionately. "How have you been?"

_Better than you._

Reese sighed. "They haven't been washing you." She pointed out, wiping away some dust from Specula's hide.

Specula shrugged. _I don't like baths_.

"You like being shiny."

Specula didn't argue for it was true. Many a time she had pranced around Shadow right after a wash boasting about how pretty she was, and how much more lustrous her armour was. Of course, Raven snickered as Shadow would trip Specula, getting rid of most of the glossiness.

Reese smiled at the memory, and Specula tapped her collarbone. _You okay? You have that sad look in your eyes…you thinking about him? Don't, he'll be fine, just not now…_ She sounded concerned, her throat emitting a metallic whine as she sent the thoughts over.

Reese rubbed her organoid's head and looked back into the yellow eyes. "I'm fine, Specky."

Specula hummed and rested her head down on Reese's lap, the orange material was rough in comparison to her old dress, but Specula didn't notice. _You haven't called me that for a long time…_ She thought out loud and closed her eyes, not wanting the zoidian to go.

Reese felt it, and saddened again. There was no avoiding fate, no matter how much their group of four may want to.

* * *

Karl Shubaltz sat on the chair, just watching the boy's face. It was strange how much healthier it looked since he had gotten into the hospital, his limbs, unlike Reese's, were still damaged, but his face had more colour than before. _It must be the blood returning._ Karl told himself as his eyes absently flicked over to the tubes of liquid that ran into his body. _Maybe he's getting more nutrients too…_

Whatever it was, it eased the soldier's mind a little to see his old comrade appearing healthy. _Except for the tubes, monitors and bandages._ His brow creased. He really had to do something about that inner voice.

He sat there without movement, though he longer to reach out and shake and scream at the boy. Raven needed to wake; there were too many people who wanted him alive. Even if most of them just wanted him to suffer for what he did, there were still people who cared for him.

Reese, for one, who wasn't coping very well without him just as Raven wouldn't do well without her. Those two needed one another.

He bit the bottom of his lip and then stood, realizing with regret that his time was up. His hand grabbed the hat on the bench behind and placed on top of his head and he sighed, closing his eyes. There was nothing he could do to help the teenager, and he was aware of it. He just hoped that someone out there could help him.

* * *

**FAN:** omg! I just figured out how to have the line breaks closer together! Turns out that 'Use shirt + enter for single line breaks' message has a purposeafter all! (Action message: Arathia ducks all flying objects). Don't look at me like that! I sat there the whole time thinking 'why the hell is that message there? You can just press shift!' or 'I can click the pagebreak button up there!' So, I did the thing and found out what it did. Yes, I did start playing with it for a while.

Anyway, the reason I'm telling you this is because I used to get really annoyed with the standard line breaks FF uses. So a while ago I would have switched all the line breaks back tot he smaller ones, but since I wrote 'Awaken' with paragraphs designed for Fanfictions spacing, I think it would be wrong to change it. That, and it's probably easier to find your place.

However. I do want your opinion on this matter, so either tell me what you wanna see in the reveiw, or answer the poll I will put up on my profile.


	8. Assault of the Green Geno

**AN:** So, yeah, sorry about the wait. I've been focusing on other things (sorry 'bout that!), but I have an idea of what the next chapter will hold, so it's okay. I can't remember exactly, but I think this a long chapter by this fic's standards. I also want to say, just to set the scene of my mind's eye, during the fight between Van and the Geno I was listening to Our Solemn Our by Within Temptation. You'll understand why I told you if you do it to.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own zoids or any of the characters in this fic apart from the Green Geno-type and Bella Jeta...I think that's all...

* * *

**Recap:**

"If we can remember how the Genobreaker was facing, we may be able to tell." Van suggested. He didn't like their grim expressions of the weight bearing down on them with the sun. "It may not be one hundred percent, but it will at least help."  
Thomas nodded. "It's all we have. Wasn't it facing west? So...the beam came from the north then, it seems...quite a distance away too. Damn it, why didn't their radars pick it up?" He sounded frustrated and his fingers were knotted through his blonde hair.  
"Whatever it is, we can't underestimate the pilot." Irvine reminded them.

Merely moments later they found light raining down on them....

* * *

**Awaken**

**Chapter Eight**

**Assalt Of The Green Geno**

* * *

The pilots half screamed – half shouted, slamming on their zoids controls in a desperate attempt to flee. The whiteness destroyed their vision for mere moments, but it made them panic none the less. Hearts pounding too fast and their eyes wide in fear they saw everything. The glowing yellow eyes that penetrating the fading light as their sight returned, the horrific scene as Thomas's zoid was caught in the light, and Zeke's shriek.

For Van time halted and he froze and he was only half aware of the dissolving light. Zeke felt something inside of him fall, and a deep sorrow settle in. This just wasn't right.

The yellow-eyed zoid made a sound as it looked at the black cat. Its eyes were thin and angular, like those of the Zaber Fang and Geno-type. Zeke unconsciously noted the strange armour. Differing shades of green, from that of old leaves to emerald to an almost glowing, disturbing pale variation. The armour itself was strange too, with what appeared to be thick, spiked ears protruding from its head, oddly like wings from a dragon's back, but malformed wings. On the nose was a small horn that faced forwards above a beak-like mouth. He couldn't see below the shoulders, which supported sharp spikes, one for each visible limb that were small and appeared to be designed merely for show as they could not flip out to the side like the Liger's blades, and they were too thick to properly impale a zoid unless the enemy was dropped from a massive height.

"What are you doing!?" Irvine screamed at Van. The older one had more experience and recovered almost instantaneously, already running up the cliff face towards the green attacker. "Don't just stand there!"

Van shook himself, Zeke growled from within the core and they both looked towards the cliff face. "For him." Van muttered strongly and they ran after Irvine. They both had boosters on, jetting themselves towards the enemy who had moved out of sight.

Once on the top they found it waiting for them. There were no other zoids around, but now that they could see it clearly it looked even more dangerous. It straightened its back horizontally and let out a metallic roar. The voice was strange for a zoid, mixing soprano, tenor and baritone in a sickly fashion, somewhat matching it's appearance.

There was a moment of silent tension as the enemies sized each other up. The green one wasn't worried about being outnumbered; it had no fear at all. The other two also felt quite safe too, they had a few advantages that they were confident about.

The Liger and Saix moved together, moving to either side of the zoid that waited for them. The saix attacked using its Pulse Cannon to fire at the enemy zoid. Van, on the other side skidded to a stop, turning as he did to fire his own cannon at it.

If it could, the green one would have smirked. It jumped high and forward, avoiding both attacks. In the air it spun, landing heavily but easily and facing them. It hissed at them, one foot more forward than the other. Its armored, organoid-like legs capable of more balance and maneuverability than its related models. The relatively long foot claws were spread and gripped the sand tightly and the long, spiked tail was dead straight out behind it.

Lowering its head, the Geno-like zoid fired shots from the large Pulse Cannon on its back. All shots were evaded, and soon it had to defend itself from the two attackers again, jumped away to dodge them as before. This time, though, Irvine was prepared. He fried at the landing spot, hitting the green zoid.

A cry of anger escaped its mouth and it charged at the Saix with unexpected speed, boosters at its rear on high. The charge knocked Irvine off the cliff edge. The green zoid stopped just in time though, claws gripping the edge and two stabilizer blade on its heels stuck firmly into the ground. It pivoted, releasing the heel blades and jumped to its left, away from the steep edge.

While all this was happening, Van was surging towards it, his blades out and glowing. The Liger's boosters gave the Geno-type no time to react and the blade's effortlessly sliced through the right side of the zoid. Van turned around in a wide arc, aiming for the other side now.

The Geno faced him, hissing as it did. The Pulse Cannon fired at Van, but the shield blocked all the shots. At the last moment the Geno jumped again and turned. Once on the ground again it shot out a clawed hand that grabbed the grey part of the blade from behind. That particular part did no damage to the claw that ripped it from the Liger's body and pulled back towards the green one with its clawed hand.

The Geno let out a roar again, a challenging, confident one. The monster felt no fear.

Van turned and saw that the creature's yellow eyes were ablaze with fiery blood lust and rage. He slowed to a stop, staring off the Geno, that, after about five seconds of tension yelled its challenge again, the claw twisting the blade in its hand so that the flat edge was parallel to the ground.

Zeke's voice rumbled around them, trying to reassure Van. Just because it had the Liger's main weapon in its hand didn't mean they wouldn't be able to destroy it. Besides, the enemy wouldn't be able to use the blade as effectively as Van could. Zeke was content, Van was optimistic again, so he had done his job.

Stepping forward, the Liger accelerated into another charge, aiming for the side with the blade. He had a plan that he was sure of. The other zoid spread its legs wider, bracing itself for a collision. The arms rose, facing the Liger as it came closer. The Liger was just about to jump when the arm he had thought he had disabled shot out its claws and grabbed the Liger's front leg and resisted the jump. It wasn't enough to keep the blue one grounded, but it did throw off the lift.

Van's eyes widened as the blade came in closer, slamming into the cockpit directly in front of him.

* * *

Reese curled up on her new bed with dissatisfaction. Since her injuries had mostly healed she had moved into a cell. This was one of those times she hated having the zoidian healing speed. Sighing she laid down, deciding that there was no need to get overly upset about it.

Then it hit her. A sudden sorrow filled her completely, making her eyes water and the corners of her lips tug downwards. Her eyes screwed up tight as the sick feeling that started in her core spread through her body, infecting her entirely. She subconsciously began to curl up, her knees pulling in towards her chest.

She rolled over, now facing the wall, and began to sob as quietly as she could. The tears moved down her cheeks until her hands got them. She wasn't used to crying so much, and it made her feel so weak and ashamed. Then again, she wasn't used to such sadness. For a long time she had believed in Hiltz and Prozen and then they betrayed her, and now her only human friend was dying and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Reese."

The soft voice made her jump. For a few moments she was still before finally getting the courage to peek behind her, green eyes glaring at the speaker. She scowled seeing who it was. A kind-looking, blonde haired girl that she had never liked.

"You." She growled dismissively and turned back, her sadness replaced with rage, but still her body shook now and then with sobs. Her frustration only made it worse too, and she clenched her teeth in anger, willing it away.

"Reese…" Fiona said again, this one was more sorrow-filled. She had never gotten along with Reese, but she couldn't hate her, or even dislike her anymore. She had forgiven Raven when he had decided to help Zi, and it only seemed right that she forgave Reese too. Not only that, but she hated seeing people upset, and Reese's suffered made her heart throb. "He's going to be okay."

"How would you know?" Reese spat, trying to give her a death glare without moving her head. It failed. "It's not like _you _see him! You didn't even know him!"

"Reese, please calm down. If you'd like, I could give you updates on how he's going." She offered kindly, trying to make Reese feel better.

"I don't want your help!" Reese snapped, turning around and sitting all in one motion. She threw her arm towards the hall exit. "Go! I don't want you here! Leave me alone!"

There was a look of pity on Fiona's face that made things almost twice as bad.

* * *

"_What's wrong?" Reese asked, her legs dangling down by her companion's head. She was sitting up on one of the Genobreaker's armour slants and looking down at him as he took a drink. He had been unusually quiet all day, sure he wasn't much a talker, but he had an unfamiliar look in his eyes that unnerved her._

_He hesitated, taking a swig from his flask. He leaned his back against the leg, near where she was sitting. "I'm just thinking." He answered quietly, watching Shadow and Specula argue._

_The blue one had laughed at him for miss-stepping on the sand and almost falling nose first into the pale grains and so Shadow had gotten touchy and growled at her. They were now throwing insults at each other and snapping their jaws. Both pilots knew they'd get into a fight and end up crawling back to them sulking. The winner would rub it in until the next time they fought._

_So far Specular had only one twice to Shadow five, but it was two-six if you asked Shadow. Specular said their first fight didn't count._

"_What about?" Reese asked, turned her attention back to the black-haired pilot who shrugged._

"_This and that."_

"_Don't make me read your mind." Reese threatened. She said it with firm kindness and concern, not how she would have only a few months previous._

_He looked frustrated at that, his brow had shallow creases and his mouth was pulled into a tense line. "You'd be wise not to." He said after a small pause and then took another sip._

_She felt her own self becoming agitated. Why did he have to keep secrets from her about how he felt? It was unhealthy to live that way, especially when it was so obvious that whatever it was bothering him was making him sad. Before she could say anything he began to speak._

"_Reese…" More hesitation, and once again he stopped her from butting in. "I'm worried…we've got nowhere to go. How are we going to keep living when there's no place for us?"_

"_There will be somewhere we can stay."__ Reese answered. "Not everyone knows of us."_

"_It's only a matter of time." He replied and took another swig._

_Reese sighed. There was no way she'd change his mind, so it was probably just best to leave it at that until she could show him. They two of them went back to watching the organoids fight. Specular was holding Shadow down underneath her long foot claws, but Shadow swung his tail and knocked her other foot out from underneath her and managed to crawl out from beneath the fallen organoid and was about to try and maker her submit when they both stopped dead._

_Specula slowly got up and they both faced the same way, there whole bodies tense._

_Reese barely noticed Raven move, pushing himself from the wall and walking towards Shadow who turned his head towards the pilot and growled dangerously at him, warning him to stay back. Raven hesitated, his eyes wider than normal from his surprise. Why had Shadow growled at him like that?_

* * *

Fiona left the room. The pain on Reese's face was too much; she didn't want to hurt her any more. As she exited the hallway she came across Karl Shubaltz and Doctor D. They both looked worried and angry.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"There have been reports from bases near the spot we sent Van, Irvine and Thomas." Karl said brusquely, almost growling. "Apparently there was a white light in the direction they were supposed to be."

"You mean a charged particle beam?" Fiona exclaimed in panic. Her hand flew up towards her mouth and her eyes were wide in horror. This was more than just bad news.

Both of them nodded with faces solemn.

* * *

**FAN:** I was a little surprised nobody made a comment about Van, Irvine, Thomas and the white light last time. I hadn't fully decided the outcome then, but I figured it would be unrealistic for them to be unharmed and not see the zoid. Along with that, I can't get rid of the good pilots or the main characters, can I?

Well, I'll just have to hurry up with the next chapter and then we'll see. -smirk-


	9. Melted, Fused and Broken

**Note:** This fic is rated M because I knew I'd want gore in it. If you are prone to mental images, especially graphic ones, you may want to take caution when reading the later parts. There isn't much detail (which I may change :3), but the thing itself is gruesome. Kinda like Brisngr. Dun worry, that's all I'll say about it...and it's a good book!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own zoids, however I do own Bella Jeta and the green Geno-type which is currently...sigh...unnamed.

* * *

**Awaken**

**Chapter nine**

**Melted, Fused and Broken**

* * *

Shadow turned. It had been a while since he had been injured, and as fast as his healing time was, his latest wounds were still giving him grief. Despite all that, he felt something tugging at him from inside. Not literally inside of him, but an urge he could not resist.

Finding there to be no point in fighting the urge, he opened up his wings and launched into the air, following the internal pull and scanning the ground below with his glowing blue eyes. Little time passed before his whole body throbbed with different instincts. Warning signals mixed in with a strong desire to fight.

Soon enough he found the source of his discomfort. Two badly damaged zoids that were lying still at the bottom of the cliff and two fighting ones were at the top. Shadow almost dropped his jaw when he saw the red armour with a silver blade attached jutting out of the sand, finally recognizing the site.

Growling, he angled himself towards the Geno and Liger on the cliff. As he dived down for the green bipedal zoid he roared angrily, pulling his wings in close and using both gravity and his boosters to speed him up. The plan was simple; destroy the zoid's mutant core.

As he got closer and closer he sensed something was wrong, but pushed the feeling aside.

* * *

Van was certain he would die when he saw that blade slam into the cockpit. A thunderous boom shook both the walls and the pilot up. When he looked up, in shock of the sound he realised that the glass had not been sliced as he had expected, but instead it was cracked. _Of course!_ Van thought with relief. _There's no energy supply!_

His relief didn't last long; however, for the green zoid jumped back with its claws still on the Liger's leg, and then pulled him in sharply. It roared at him and threw the blade down, using the now free hand to grab his other leg. The Geno then jumped on the Liger and slammed a clawed foot down onto the part of the blade that joined it to the Liger's torso. With a snap the blade fell down onto the ground.

Jumping back into place a few meters away from Van's liger, the zoid roared again and lowered its front so the whole body was parallel with the ground. Van watched in horror, still struggling, but aware that he had almost no hope what-so-ever of escaping the next attack. Van had battled Geno's enough to know what that position meant.

Out of no where came the unmistakable light of an organoid. Van felt his heart drop as he realized it was headed for the core, but something was different about it. Instead of coming from directly above it was on an angle and didn't have the same look as a fusing organoid.

Van watched as it slammed into the side of the zoid and in, towards the core. Not even a second later it was thrown out the other side and stood on the sand hissing at the Geno. The organoid's wings were spread and realization hit Van like a bucket of cold water.

_What the?_ Zeke cried, speaking for both himself and the pilot. Since when did Shadow want to protect them?

The zoid ignored Shadow, recovering from the blow to charge up the particle beam. As the sections of the tail opened up Van could see thick silver spikes from over the top of the zoid's head. The zoids' bulk stopped him from seeing any more than that.

Shadow looked from the Liger to the cables that attacked to the restraining hands. He had to choose quickly. He could either tell Zeke to get out so he could merge with the Liger and boost its power as well as healing it, or he could try and break the cables in time for the Liger to escape.

When he saw the light appear he shot out, despite how battered he felt. He didn't have much time, and so he based the decision off of the Liger's powerful shield. He remembered how it had taken a blow from the Genobreaker and survived, so darting towards the closest cable he attached himself to it, wrapping his dark body around the cord and biting in.

As he gripped on, his claws sank into the plastic, almost touching the metal within. His jaws, on the other hand did far more damage as he ripped and tore at the material. In seconds he had shredded the covering and was working on the metal. Because it was pulled so tightly he was able to hack through it easier, but ended up with a nasty shock as he did.

He screamed in pain and dropped down into the sand, curling up pathetically as he pain slowly subsided. He whimpered quietly once, but mentally scolded himself for it and decided to instead just lay there for a while. After all, there was a bright light that shone near him, and the heat from it was highly uncomfortable to the black organoid.

Opening his eyes a little he watched as his prediction came true. The Liger's shield prevented the light from passing through to the actually zoid. As the light thinned and vanished, Shadow stood and opened his wings again, roaring cockily at the green Geno-type. _Didn't expect that, did you?_ He cried with pride and shot up into the air again. _This'd be so much easier with Raven…_ He thought silently.

The Geno turned its attention towards Shadow now and snapped at the organoid that easily flew out of range, throwing in some unnecessary acrobatics as he did. But as it happened, his lack of focus resulted in the broken wing. A bullet slammed straight into one of the main rods of his right wing, sending him spiraling down.

Shadow let out a weak, desperate cry as the ground approached. He tried to pull out, but thanks to his snapped wing he barely slowed it down at all. He then tried facing away from the ground and turning on his boosters, but he couldn't flip properly. No matter what he did, he ended up crashing painfully into the sand.

Despite the horrible pain in his body he still tried to push himself up, thankful he had no gone over that cliff. _Good thing I have some skill, eh?_ He thought almost happily to himself, glancing behind him at realizing just how close he was to death.

Van, felt the Liger almost rise and he realized why. The cable to his left had broken. Wondering how he found Shadow standing on the sand in between the two limp parts of the cord. Van and Zeke both watched as he annoyed the Geno, avoiding its jaws, but then getting hit by one of three bullets.

They cried out together as Shadow spiraled down, certain he would go off the cliff, but thanks to some clumsy maneuvers he pulled himself away. Van and Zeke sighed with relief and turned back towards the Geno.

_If we can't dodge him,_ Van though, _Can he dodge us?_ He then fired rounds from the cannon from the Liger's half raised chest. To the pilot's disappointment they all missed, his aim thrown off by his position.

Van winced as something hit the cockpit. He was surprised to find it was Shadow who growled at his and then cried out and jumped up further on to the head.

_What're you doing_? Zeke asked with annoyance._ Get off!_

Shadow answered him with a growl, but Van couldn't understand what he was saying. They argued for a while before finally Zeke gave in. _Shadow's going to swap with me…_ He grumbled. _Even though he's _injured! Clearly that had come in their little disagreement.

"Zeke…are you sure?" Van asked, not to comfortable with piloting with another organoid, let alone Shadow. It just felt wrong.

Zeke growled as he left the zoid and landed in front of the Geno, throwing insults at it to distract the Zoid that decided to try squishing him.

Zeke ran out in panic, crying out for help as he did while Shadow would have rolled his eyes and then entered the core. As usual the zoid healed, and despite Shadow's injured the Liger was almost fully repaired. Shadow growled contentedly, aware of Van's silent awe.

Van watched with wide eyes as the zoids stats rose. He was used to a lift like that from Zeke, but it was never this great. "Now I know the key to Raven's power…" He murmured, only to have Shadow growl at him. It seemed Zeke and Shadow were both protective of their friends.

Returning to the task at hand Van commanded the Liger to pull hard against the remaining bind. With Shadow's strength and Zeke still distracting the Geno he managed to almost break it. Key word there: almost.

The Geno snapped his attention back to the Liger and fired shots from the Pulse Cannon directly at the now fully intact cockpit. The shield blocked them and slowly snapped through the weakened cable. Both the Liger and Shadow growled maliciously as the blue zoid rose. They were ready to fight back.

Zeke bolted out of the battle area, well aware that he was too much danger. He hated having to simply watch, and did feel betrayed that Shadow was in there, even if he had agreed to it. He shifted his weight impatiently as the battle began, uncomfortable with only being able to observe.

* * *

_Specula?_ Reese called dully in her mind. She was sad and lonely now, and to top it off she was still bitter about what happened with Fiona. It was her fault, but she refused to accept it, much preferring to lay the blame on someone else than face it herself. She clenched her teeth and scowled at the wall inches from her face, relieving some of the stress.

_Reese…_The voice was calm. _Are you okay, Reese?_

Concern, that's just what she needed. The tone soothed her for a while. She managed a teary smile and bit the inside of her lip as it faded back to bitter thoughts. _I'm fine…_ She told the organoid. _Don't you worry about me, I'm fine_. She could feel the organoid's doubt, but Specula kept it to herself.

Reese felt something strange in Specula conscious. The organoid was keeping something from her! _Is there something wrong Specula?_ She asked, a little panicked. _You're hiding something._

Specula hesitated. _Reese…you're not gonna like it, but I guess there's no point in hiding it from you now you know it's there, you'll only worry more… _After a pause Specula continued. _Shadow's hurt – badly! He'll live, but if they find him he won't be able to fight them off._

_He should be more worried about me!_ Reese hissed dangerously, making Specula flinch with surprise.

_Reese?_

_He left us Specula! He left Raven!_ The zoidian felt tears welling up again and she put the butt of her hands to her eyes, viciously wiping them away before slamming her palms into the wall. She beat the wall a few times before her fingers buried into her hair and pulled hard. The hairs held, sending pain signals to her brain. Reese resisted the urge to scream in fury, frustration and in pain – for her scalp, her palms, her eyes and her heart, which was hurting the most.

During Reese's loss of control Specula withdrew from the mind, seething and distressed herself. In her prison she looked down at the ground sadly and wanted to cry. Alas, it was impossible, for she had no tear ducts. _Why has fate done this to us?_ She asked the lonely sorrow in her mind. She felt so strange, a cruel, twisted hybrid of illness and agony that maimed her insides, its poison throbbing and oozing into the rest of her body.

She let out a single whimper, like a weak cry for help, and put her head back down on the floor.

* * *

Pain…

Pain-pain-pain-pain-pain-pain-pain-pain-pain-pain-pain-pain-pain-pain!  
Irvine groaned. _Go away_, he told the burning pain as he struggled up.  
_Na-__na na-na-na!_ It called back, mocking him.

He groaned again, louder and longer this time, hitting his head on the face of his zoid. The Saix made a sound to suit his hurt pride. Irvine ignored at clambered out, forgetting about the immediate drop down to the sand.

Now lying on his back he sighed out his annoyed and grumbled. "Great, I'm so delusional with either agony or blood loss that I'm talking to a bloody sense, I hurt my zoids feelings, I'm laying on the sand waiting to die, I have a possibly dead comrade beside me, I'm in the middle of nowhere, Van –if he's still alive – is fighting a killer Geno-zoid, and now I'm talking to myself and staring up at a Republic soldier who thinks I've lost it."

Said soldier smirked and offered him a hand. "Don't worry." He said as he pulled Irvine up. "All good pilots are mad."

"Thank you." Irvine replied dryly.

"THOMAS!"

Irvine and the soldier both turned to see Karl sprinting towards his brother's totaled Debison. It didn't look good. Half the cockpit had been destroyed, and most of the remaining cockpit was melted. But still Karl hoped that maybe his brother was alive. Right now, the best anyone could hope for was still breathing.

They watched as he jumped up onto the cockpit and run underneath the melted glass. Usually he would have checked to see if it was safe, but not now. His main concern was not _his_ safety; it was the sibling beneath the melted glass unconscious.

He called as loudly as he could for a medic before ducking back behind the tinted, melted liquid. They couldn't see or hear him talking softly to his brother, or the burns on Thomas's face, or the skin that was fused to the glass. They didn't know that he was perfectly still or that there was a grey tinge to his face.

After removing his glove, Karl slowly, carefully and fearfully pulled back an eyelid with his thumb, his heart racing million miles for what he might see. He gulped as the white came into view, tears obscuring his vision. As he bit his lip, the iris came into view, first the dark rim and then, the cool, glassy green Karl had feared.

He closed his eyes, the tears sliding down his now pale cheeks and feeling dizzy. He blanked, unaware that he was falling, or that there were men down there trying as a team to catch him. He did not know that the paramedics had come because he could not think, and even if he could, he would still not be aware of them.

All he would be able to see was his brother, graying skin, disfigured body-the skin fused to glass- and that glassy, dead eye.

* * *

**FAN:** Don't you just adore my DIDs style of writing? I had fun with Irvine's part, it was really just write it as I thought it.  
Although, it more...hyper...in my mind. Yeah, Irv's a little-okay, a lot-OoC there, but right now idc. Later I will, fo sho, but not right now.

About Thomas...When I realised that it would be very unrealistic to have the Debison dodge in time, I though I only had two options. 1, have him obliterated then and there, or 2, drag it out. I went with 2 and itended to have him badly injured, but not dead. I then was going to make you all feel as if it was a false alarm and have him die in hospital.

There was a flaw with that though. How did I get him bleeding when the glass would have melted, not broken? So, I decided that instead of throwing in something or coming up with some ingenius plan, I'd just use what I was given. I do that a lot, I don't go out and ask people for things, I use what I have to come up with something ^^. So, instead of dragging out his death and trying to lull you into a false sense of security, I decided to kill him there and there from shock.

Sorry for the long FAN guys! Also, sorry to one of the reveiwers, I forgot which chapter was up! I am sooo sorry for spoiling this one! DX -dies-


	10. Deep

**AN:** Sorry for the wait guys, and how short and choppy this chapter is, but there's a lot of simultaneous stuff going on.  
Music listened to while writing: Skillet: Rebirthing, Skillet: Comatose, Within Temptation: All I Need, Bond: Explosive, Flyleaf, Jimmy Eat World: Just Tonight, Papa Roach: Scars.  
Some other songs too, but that was the main stuff.  
Most of those songs are deep and meaningful and have some kind of vague relevence to what I was writing...somehow.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own zoids.

* * *

**Awaken**

**Chapter Ten**

**Deep**

* * *

The room had a calm look to it, but there was some ghostly force there that twisted that innocence into something sinister. It was a horrible experience just looking into the room, and yet the medical team had to work in it, visited the private patient regularly. It was a job that all the medical staff, nurses and doctors, hated.

The body-as one of the doctors called it for he had lost hope- was always still and if it wasn't for the dull colour in his face he would seem dead to a normal person. Of course the beeping machines stopped them from checking his pulse every time they visited him, just to be sure.

There was so much controversy over 'the body'. He was a criminal, one of the worst Zi had ever seen, and if it wasn't for Hiltz and Prozen who had tried to either rule or destroy the planet (the version varied with each newspaper) he would have most likely been the worst. There was still some debate about it.

An unexpected sound came from the bed on which 'the body' was lying in. Everyone stopped their work to turn. One nurse glanced around at the faces of his workmates, wondering who had made the sound but there were all staring at the bed, so the nurse looked at the criminal.

Sure enough, Raven had moved.

"Does this mean he's awake?" One of the other nurses whispered her voice barely audible.

The only present doctor shook his head. "It means he's improving, but not necessarily awake, and if he did regain consciousness, it may have only been for a few moments, the damage wasn't light."

The male nurse frowned. "How could he slip back into consciousness for only a moment and then back into a coma."

The doctor shrugged. "There's a lot we don't know about the mind, but he's something to consider – not all damage shows in a brain scan. Make what you will of that."

_Colonel Shubaltz will be happy._ The nurse thought. _He's been pestering us for information, and now we'll be able to tell him there's been a change._ He smiled a little. _It'd be good for Shubaltz to smile, he's always so serious._

* * *

The glowing yellow eyes bore into the Liger as the blades came forward. They were alight with power and in one blow could slice the enemy zoid in half. It was just a matter of making the two connect, and it was proving to be very difficult.

Whenever Van got near, the Geno moved, always changing the direction of the maneuver and always firing at the shielded Liger, finding gaps in the defense with patience, whether they were from behind the shield or firing at the same spot for long enough for a whole to appear.

The whole quickly shut, but the few bullets that got there still did damage.

Shadow moaned as they got from behind again. Normally he wouldn't have a problem with a Liger, but since he was injured he couldn't stand the pressure as much. He felt himself weakening at a much slower rate than he was used to, but still a lot faster than he liked.

Van's mouth was a slash, Shadow's moan wasn't at all a good sign. "Are you okay?" He asked as he turned the Liger around. "Can't you handle it?" He then added with a smirk, hoping that if he fired the organoid up he'd battle better.

_Shut it human!_ Shadow snapped angrily though Van could only hear a deep growl. _I could defeat you, you're Liger and you're pathetic partner all together! You were impressed with my power, even in my injured state, just admit it weakling!_

Van smirked, noticing the tone. His plan had at least partly worked.

The Liger would have charged at the green Geno again, but Shadow stopped Van's hands from moving the controls. The organoid had other plans. He faced the Geno head on. Both zoids were still. He then lowered the shield for the Geno hadn't fired for a while. It usually stopped if the shield was doing its job.

"What're you doing?" Van cried, slamming his palms into the controls.

Shadow didn't answer, instead he just pulled the blades in and shot out from the cannon's below the Liger's chest, and when the Geno dodged that he fired with the lasers up top, aiming for where the Geno looked to land.

Shadow, having much target practice before, and a good reaction time, hit the Geno's chest. The green zoid quickly jumped again, hissing at came closer with each angled bound.

"Shadow!" Van said with panic, and still trying to move the controls.

_Oh shut up._ The organoid thought to himself and pulled the blades out sharply, lunging forward as the green Geno was mid-leap towards them. With dread he realized his miscalculation, and watched the Geno's tail come down, the only part of the zoid that was in front of the Liger.

Van, out of instinct and reflex slammed his fists into the laser's controls, only hitting the trigger and hoping desperately that it was already aimed properly. The pilot's eyes were closed and his mind had blanked in terror, his heart in his ears and fear stuck in his throat.

A metallic cry of pain made Van's eyes open, only to see his cockpit still darker than usual. There was a horrible crash and the cockpit shook violently, glass shattering around him as the Geno slammed down, letting out a cry of mixed pain and cruel satisfaction.

Shadow let out an involuntary weak mew as he left the Liger, slamming down in the sand near Zeke. The pain had been too much for the black organoid.

_What happened?_ Van asked himself through the pain of glass cuts. _I heard it get hurt…Or…was it the Liger? No, it couldn't have been, the Liger's voice is much lower…_

He felt tears in his eyes; the pain was so intense it made his throat act on its own, the pain escaping out his mouth in sobs and weak cries. He had no memory of being in anything that physically agonizing before. _I must be dying. _He thought in fear_. But…that can't be…no! No! I can't leave Fiona! Or Zeke, or Thomas, Irvine…Moonbay, Liger…All my friends, all of them….they need me…no…I can't go…not yet_…

He heard Zeke growling beside him and faintly wondered how he got there. Wasn't he away? The pilot was lightheaded and vaguely felt Zeke nudge his cheek gently, he was unaware of the cords that wrapped around each of his limbs and dragged him inside a warm cocoon.

* * *

Van had been right, the Geno had been hit, but only on it's spiked tail which it used to slam down on the Liger's head again, trying to destroy the pilot and white organoid which it watched go inside. To its annoyance the pests got away, but it wasn't completely unhappy as it turned away from the cliff edge they escaped off.

Its yellow eyes lingered on the black figure on the ground. How that fly had caused it so much trouble. A tenor hiss emitted from its mouth and it slowly moved towards the insect, the long, armored legs supporting its weight easily. With each step it hastened, eager to kill the organoid pest.

The spiked tail flicked as far as it could, which really wasn't much, but enough to get the point across. It was one deadly machine.

A sound came from the cliff side, it was unfamiliar, but it knew what it was. Flying zoids were on their way, and though they'd be easy to destroy, that was no the object of the mission. Destroy the pilots. That was all it was supposed to do. The failure made it burn inside with wicked loathing. It wasn't supposed to reveal itself just yet so it had to keep itself hidden from the flying weaklings.

It hovered out of there, screaming in frustration as it did. The failure, the rules, the pest zoids, the pest organoids, they'd all be gone soon; it was just a matter of harnessing that rage for the right moment. A bloodthirsty rumble came from its core, spawned by the very idea of the violence to come.

* * *

Irvine stood beside Shubaltz as they carried his brother away in a morbidly convenient body bag. Irvine's head was hung and he was struggling to keep it all inside. The sobbing from such a strong man beside him wasn't helping at all, but he knew it'd be wrong to leave him now.

Irvine's mind was jumping around, thinking about Thomas, all those memories, how he'd never see him again, and then Karl, how hard it must be. Feeling the tears burn his eyes he tried to think about something else, but then his mind just jumped to how lucky he was, how close he was to ending up like Thomas, and his throat tightened so much that he had to gasp for air. Two simultaneous emotions choked him. Fear of death, and survivor's guilt.

He closed his eyes, trying to swallow the stubborn lump, but his saliva just got slowed, oozing down sluggishly. _What of Van?_ He wondered. _Is Van okay? What will he do when he finds out? He's so weak…He won't be able to take it_. Another weight pressed down. _And then there's Zeke, but worst will be Fiona…_ glancing beside him he reworded his thoughts. _Worst that doesn't already know._

Irvine wondered about Shubaltz's family. He remembered hearing that Thomas had always been shadowed by Karl, but he wondered how they'd react. Would they be relieved to hear that it was the younger brother or would they break down like the colonel?

It's not my place. He reminded himself while pulling his arm away from a concerned medic. He wasn't in the mood. Neither was she.

"Give me you're arm." She said more sternly as she grabbed it again. "You can be sad while we treat you."

With his peripheral vision Irvine saw Karl's fist clench as he was taken away. He gave up resisting, which probably meant that he did need medical help.

There was some commotion nearby that Irvine couldn't focus on immediately. It sounded like something small landing nearby and there was a roar shortly after that make the ground shudder. Something serious must have happened. This was definitely a bad day.

He looked over sharply when he heard Van's name, and sure enough there he was, in all his bloody, cut-up and unconscious splendor with medics hurrying over to him and Zeke whining sulkily. The organoid followed him sadly as they walked passed Irvine and the brothers to the medics.

Zeke paused, sensing something was wrong and looked at the body bag curiously. He had never seen one of those in his life and moved closer to investigate. He slowed as he approached and leaned in close with his nose. Irvine became alarmed when he opened his mouth slightly as if he was going to try and open it.

"Zeke no!" He cried, scared of what Karl and the organoid would do.

"It's Thomas." Karl sobbed, wiping his eyes with the back of a hand and he swallowed hard. Panting as he breathed again he looked back at Zeke. His eyes were puffy and red. In reply the organoid lowered his body as whimpered sadly. He didn't know why Shubaltz was sad, but it upset him anyway.

He cocked his head, not knowing why Thomas was in a black bag. _Surely it would be hard to breathe in such a thing_. Zeke thought, blinking expectantly at Karl, kindly letting him know he was awaiting an answer.

"He's…" Karl sobbed harder, unable to finish his sentence though he tried.

"Thomas is gone Zeke." Irvine said quietly, the words hurt him too. There was a dense pain in his chest that appeared so suddenly it frightened the pilot. He blinked tears back again and grimaced at the way Zeke looked at him. It was clear the organoid still didn't understand. How could he? He had never heard the word 'gone' used in such a way.

"He's deceased." A redhead medic whispered to him, biting her lip as she looked at him. Zeke's face dropped and their was obvious disbelief showing on his facial features, he whined sadder than before and looked at the medic with crimson, sorrow-filled eyes.

* * *

Reese glared at her measly food. "I want tuna." She said flatly.

"We don't have any tuna." The guard answered in monotone. He was used to criminals complaining about their food.

"I'm not going to eat anything but Tuna."

He sighed. "That doesn't bother me as much as you may believe."

Reese glared at him. She had her ways of getting what she wanted and she was _going_ to _get_ what she _wanted_ whether her methods were legal or not. It was just a matter of time. Her body, however, was more impatient than her mind.

"I want tuna." She said again.

"You're," He paused, only for a split second before continuing, "Going to have to wait a few minutes."

She smiled to herself as he left to get it. She had managed to get bugs inside the building easily. They just needed to stay hidden. Raven wasn't the only one able to learn from past errors and misjudgments.

* * *

Shadow stirred, one of legs twitched, kicking out at an invisible enemy. He opened his now dull eyes and listened as aerial zoids passed overhead. He had thought he heard a cry so loud that the ground beneath him and vibrated its anger. It was hard to tell now, whether that had been real or imagined though.

He very slowly pushed himself up and looked around. His limbs were shaking, and he felt so drained that he could have curled up and whimpered, but he didn't. He took an unbalanced step that almost ending with his face in the stiff sand. His movements were small and uncoordinated as he stumbled away from the cliff edge.

He desperately wanted Raven there with him; he needed to see his partner again. He would know what to do. Raven'd help him. He imagined Raven coming out of one of the rock shapes around him with arms open and smiling. He'd be happy that Shadow was there, but also very concerned for him and run over immediately.

Shadow collapsed as he imagined Raven kneeling beside him and stroking him while talking. Raven'd try anything to make it better. Shadow closed his eyes and relaxed, half asleep and believing Raven was actually there and helping him.

_Everything will be alright._ He thought happily. _You're here._

* * *

**FAN:** Aww, poor Shads. I couldn't help it. By the way, he does actually believe Raven is there. I've done that before, not with Raven, or because of an injury...I was just really tired.

I never noticed how hard it was to get the right message across in my ANs without using 'lol'. Damn...


End file.
